


Return to the Canon

by Robo_Sammiches



Category: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Gen, Trigger Warning: Eye Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28489305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robo_Sammiches/pseuds/Robo_Sammiches
Summary: There is none else but the Eternal. The aegyl have no need of the Underworld. Even the accidental teachings that Clydwyn has received are forbidden.
Kudos: 3





	Return to the Canon

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: Mentions of eye trauma.

"You are no longer welcome here."

For all the aegyl gathered here, Clydwyn isn't sure if it makes it better or worse that they are not alone. Their stares are empty and unsympathetic, yet somehow the blank expression paired with the words of Clydwyn's clan patriarch bore a pit in their stomach.

Clydwyn takes a step back, despite there being no present threat. The feathers of the wings on their back smooth - black blood feathers tremble. It was the Eternal's will that Clydwyn was captured by sky pirates. They'd spent many bells hacking away at crystal in the auracite mines to make a pretty coin for them, that the auracite might eventually make its way into the hands of the Garleans. Clydwyn was far from denying this. Their only resistance resulted in a broken sword, which they accepted in solemn surrender.

And yet, Clydwyn was still here. They were a slave no more; they'd even fought back in the insurgence of the slavers' ship. They couldn't have been able to tell that Bangaa and their crew would have come to attack the ship purely for auracite. Clydwyn's wings in shackles were purely a coincidence. An annoyance, Clydwyn even thought. However, the sword on their hip, forged for them exclusively by their Underworlder allies, was proof against that. It was only more proof that they were conspiring with them.

Though they resisted the strange urge to react explosively, Clydwyn still protested.

"My presence in the Underworld was not my own doing," they declared. "I was taken to Dalmasca against my wishes." Much like the rest of their winged peers, Clydwyn's voice was monotonous. Still, they were plagued by a feeling of unrest that made their chest tighten.

The patriarch's lips pursed. "Your wishes are not your own," he responded. "We answer to the Eternal. It was your right and duty to return to Lemures, should you die by it or not."

"Uncle Arwel-" Clydwyn raised a hand in a fruitless attempt to grasp at an argument that wasn't there.

"I have spoken." Arwel turned slowly to the side, his wings a solid black that resembled Clydwyn's flight feathers. "Return to the Words of the Canon. The Eternal may yet save you, but you cannot return to Ceridwa Temple. It cannot be defiled by heretics."

Arwel might as well have stabbed Clydwyn. Nobody had studied the Canon like Clydwyn has. Arwel and Clydwyn's clan was the one that guarded over the temple for generations, after all. It was a place where life began and ended. Clydwyn was exempt from having the right to die there.

For this, Clydwyn was seeing red. Arwel's wrinkled face became prominent in the blurry sea of strangers, making Clydwyn acutely aware of the patriarch's dark eyes. How much better they would be on the ground, nerves torn and sockets bloody. Seething aggression was quickly replaced by a cold sweat. Clydwyn felt dizzy. Their fingers flexed, unsure of what to grab.

"How DARE you."

The crowd that was initially intent on leaving, intent on leaving their problems to be solved by the Canon, glanced up. Arwel's brows worked fretfully.

It took a moment for Clydwyn to realize that was their own voice that raised. Their chin flexed painfully as they grit their teeth, lips pulled into a frown. Something hot and wet started to form on their left fingers, which dug forcefully into clenched fists.

"Nobody has worked at the temple as hard as I have." The dam broke now. Clydwyn's heated words poured out senselessly, their tone dark. "You have expected everything from me since my mother died. I have fought where you would not and could not. You were placid even as the temple servants ran away. You have NO possible right to judge me." Their brows knit into a scowl. "Do not act as though you are higher than the Eternal."

Clydwyn moved sharply as they made to exit the ruins, not even waiting for the reaction of their peers; because they knew there would be none. Their wings expanded in a rush as they made to take off into the orange sky, shed feathers drifting behind them. They didn't even stop to check their hand. They knew it was blood.


End file.
